DID NOT GO GENTLE: I am consciously grazing against the edge of our No Politics rule, but I would be remiss if I did not note the unfortunate passing last night of Christopher Hitchens, esophageal cancer having claimed him at age 62. The profoundly prolific polemicist gleefully knocked down orthodoxies, assuredly pissing off each of us on multiple occasions, but, wow, what wit! what writing! His was a brain worth following wherever it chose to go. “I personally want to ‘do’ death in the active and not the passive,” he once wrote, “and to be there to look it in the eye and be doing something when it comes for me.”

With just days until Christmas (and Hanukkah) and a handful of people likely left on your (my) list (if you are my brother, STOP READING RIGHT NOW), let me ask this question: what is the best commercially available gift you have ever (or recently) received or would like to receive, with a value no greater than, say, $100 or $150?

SORRY, NO NOMINATION FOR PIPER PERABO THIS YEAR: We don't have anything terribly profound to say about the Golden Globe nominations, other than that they continue the Globes' trend to fetishize the new (4 of the 5 best drama series and 3 of the 5 best comedy series nominations are for freshman shows of varying levels of merit), love on star names (2 acting nods for Ryan Gosling, an acting and a directing nod for George Clooney), and the utterly random (Callie Thorne? Johnny Galecki but not Jim Parsons?). Take it away, folks.

NEXT YEAR'S FRONTRUNNER? FARTMAN: Howard Stern has officially announced that he's joining America's Got Talent as a judge, replacing Piers Morgan. Earlier reports indicated that this would also mean live shows would move from LA to New York for production to accommodate Stern's desires, and I wouldn't be shocked to see the show held for the fall, rather than airing in its traditional summer slot, to take advantage of the publicity.

HEY GIRL, I'D LIKE TO TRANSPORT YOU ACROSS STATE LINES FOR IMMORAL PURPOSES IN VIOLATION OF THE MANN ACT: Having addressed everything from feminism to the peculiarities of the Park Slope Food Co-Op, it was assuredly only a matter of time until the Tumblr Law School Ryan Gosling existed. That said, I'm sure we can come up with some better suggestions.

FROM THE ALOTT5MA COURTSHIP DESK: Okay, agreed, the letter previously discussed presents possible issues of Asperger's-related issues which renders it not necessarily the best topic for jocular discussion. If that's what caused his failure to recognize and respond appropriately to social cues, it's not funny.

WHO SAYS THE INTERNET ISN'T POWERFUL: Linda Chorney's album Emotional Jukebox hadn't recorded a single SoundScan sale when Grammy nominations arrived and none of her prior albums have officially sold more than 25 copies. Nonetheless, it's nominated, alongside albums from Lucinda Williams, Ry Cooder, and Emmylou Harris, as Best Americana Album for the 2012 Grammys. Billboard looks at how it happened.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

CLEARLY "RESIDENCE" DOES NOT MEAN "HOME DEPOT:" We haven't talked much about this season of TAR, largely because most of the legs have been pretty bland--filled with first in, first out challenges that spoonfed people, bunching designed to eliminate any team getting a lead, and with a single dominant team (Snowboarders for Jesus) for much of the Race. So tonight's finale was nice in that the clues and tasks were actually tricky. Of course, it promptly demonstrated why that style can be problematic, as one team found a task so tough that they had to repeat it at least 5 times before passing, and another team had difficulty deciphering a clue, sending them well out of the way. Credit to the editors for making an effort to make it seem close/competitive even at the end, when it was clear who our winners would be, but this was not the best season.

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